Natalie's quilt

I have three more finished blocks for my Natalie's quilt that I started and blogged about here.  To be honest these were made before Dad's hospitalization but I got them out today to motivate me to continue with them.  Please excuse the wrinkles, they have been packed away for a while.

Some lovely things:

I thought I would share some lovely things I have come across or bought recently.  The first is a lovely package that came in the mail last week.  I joined the Happy-go-knitty 4 ply shawl club which runs May, June and July to expand my knitting skills.  Each month I receive a hand-dyed yarn, a shawl pattern and some extra goodies.  May's package came last week and as you can see it is on my needles already.  The extra treats were these gorgeous cat stitch markers and some yummy Frooze balls which is a healthy but treaty snack (they didn't make it to the photo!)

My second lovely thing is my new stepladder, an old one that has been given a new lease on life with a gorgeous spotty top.  A new shop has opened nearby called Home and it is full of vintage/retro goodies as well as crafts and clothes made by local artisans.  I had been thinking we needed a stepladder and this one is just perfect.

Thank you for all the kind comments about my Dad.  It is such a pleasure to see him regaining strength each week.
I hope you all have a wonderful week with plenty of time to do what you love, Wendy xx

Knitting, knitting, knitting

It has been a long seven weeks since my last post.  During these weeks I have been kept busy fitting in hospital visits to my dear Dad who has been sick all that time.  There have been many difficult times but I am so thankful that Dad is now home and recovering well.  I feel blessed by family and friends; I feel blessed by God's mercy.

Knitting has become my thing to do at the moment; it's so portable and comforting.
A friend had a gorgeous baby girl at the end of March so I knitted the cardigan and hat for her.  The cardy is a free pattern on ravelry called the Puerperium cardigan and I knitted it in Outlaw yarn, a NZ yarn made of 90% alpaca and 10% merino.  It is so soft and smooth, perfect for a little baby.  I had yarn left over so knitted a matching hat using the Baby Hat with Top Knot pattern which is also free on ravelry.  I didn't have quite enough yarn so finished the top knot with cream angora.  I waited until my friend's baby girl was born before choosing the pink gingham buttons and purchased the little pink toy to go with it.

The sock pattern is called Anemone socks by Wei S Leong.

The lavender knitting is the Lyttelton shrug, a pattern by Kate Davies.  It is rather unseasonal knitting but it was on my list before the weather turned cold!  I am quite close to finishing this one but unfortunately ran out of yarn so am waiting for another ball.

The last project is a cardigan called Mary Rebecca and I am hoping this will make the perfect winter cardy.  I am using a Quince and Co yarn, 100% wool from America which is soft and squishy.

Thank you so much for stopping here, I am sorry I haven't visited your blogs recently.  I am hoping to catch up with that this week.  Wishing you all a wonderful Sunday, with much friendship, Wendy xx